Melissa Baese-Berk is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. She is also the Director of the Speech Perception and Production Lab.
Melissa earned her Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics from Boston University, and then a PhD in Linguistics with a specialization in Cognitive Science at Northwestern University. She then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language and at Michigan State University before moving to University of Oregon, where she was a Professor of Linguistics and the David M. and Nancy L. Petrone Faculty Scholar, as well as the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. She moved to the University of Chicago in July of 2023.
In her research, Melissa focuses on phonology and phonetics, typically examining speech perception and production, with special attention to non-native speakers and listeners. Her work has specifically addressed sources of variation in production and how that variation influences listeners in perception. She has also worked extensively on how various aspects of the perception and production systems interact. In the lab, we work on a variety of projects in this domain and connected areas. The work in the lab is currently funded by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, an Opportunity Award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and by an Incubating Interdisciplinary Initiatives Award from the University of Oregon. She was awarded the 2021 Faculty Excellence Award from the University of Oregon, in recognition of her contributions to research, teaching, and service at the University.
Melissa also enjoys teaching an array of courses. In 2018, she was awarded the University of Oregon’s A. J. Ersted Faculty Achievement Award for Distinguished Teaching, an award given to one instructor at the university each year. The same year, she was also awarded the Tykeson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the College of Arts and Sciences. This award is given to one instructor in each division and was awarded to instructors who show particular excellence in teaching large courses to undergraduate students. She is devoted to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in the lab and in the classroom. In 2020, she was awarded the University of Oregon’s Faculty Research Mentor Award by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Education. She spent several years as the University of Oregon Department of Linguistics Director of Undergraduate Studies. She was also been nominated for the university-wide University of Oregon’s Excellent Faculty Advising award for five consecutive years. She began a three-year term on the Executive Committee of the Linguistic Society of America in January 2023. She is also committed to mentoring junior scholars in the field more broadly, both through formal initiatives (e.g., the Pop-Up Mentoring Program) and less formally. She was jointly awarded the Linguistic Society of America Linguistics Service Award for her work with the Committee on Gender Equity in Linguistics (formerly COSWL) and the Pop-Up Mentoring Program.